By Ejiro Nesisa
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR,Delta State branch has frowned at the decision of the Delta State Government led by Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori not to dissolve the active commissions, parastatals and agencies just as it called on the state government to correct some anomaly in the last administration for the speedy growth and development of the state.
In a press statement signed by the Chairman of CDHR Delta State branch, Comrade Jonathan Giama and the Secretary, Comrade Eruore Samuel Edoso and made available to newsmen on Monday, said, the last administration made little or no progress in ensuring that the local government Chairmen across the 25 local government areas were compelled to bring the dividends of democracy their respective areas considering the federal allocation that comes to them.
Part of the statement reads:” We are worried that the local government Chairmen across the 25 local government areas of Delta State are not putting the federal allocation into good use..”
According to the statement, from 1999 to 2015, Deltans witnessed tangible development across the Oil Producing Areas in the state saying ,this trend of development was not seen in the last eight years which necessitated various petitions against the last administration adding, this has led to massive deficiency in infrastructural development across the oil producing areas of the state.
Part of the statement reads:” We are aware that the establishment laws of Delta State Oil Producing Area Development t Commission(DESOPADEC) allows the commission to secure 50% of the 13% oil derivation fund accruing to Delta State Government for the purpose of rehabilitation and development of oil producing areas of the state. However, there was no tangible development in the oil producing areas to justify the DESOPADEC’ allocation”.
According to the statement, as civil rights organization interested in good governance of the state, they urged the government to make public, the amount allocated to the commission monthly saying, in the last administration, the commission reduced its activities to funding of small and medium scale entrepreneurial programmes, leaving the primary aims of the establishment the commission.
On education, the CDHR body said, it is on record that in the last administration ,there was astronomical increase in the tuition fees of the state owned tertiary institutions( Polytechnics and Universities ) across the state saying, this action has necessitated increase in the number of school dropouts in the state as many parents could not afford the new tuition fees hence, watch their children’s dropout helplessly and therefore called on the government to review this decision for the best interest of Deltans.
The body also called on the state government to wade into the rate of extortion in the primary and post primary schools across the state saying, parents are made to pay between N30,000 to N50,000 per pupils/students for admission fees instead of the usual official rate of N720.00 per term. On transport, it said, some officials of Delta State Traffic Management Authority(DESTMA) of the Delta State Ministry of Transport have formed the habit extorting roads traffic defaulter as they force them to pay between N50,000 to N70,000 saying, such monies, it is believed, are not remitted to Government’s purse. The body therefore called on the Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori to do the needful by correcting these shortcomings in the state in order to curtail or eradicate the ills just as it charged the state government to put the right person in the right position(s) and retain heads of the various commissions , parastatals and agencies for the speedy growth and development of the state.